The Real Meaning Behind Bruce Springsteen's Inauguration Concert Song

Inauguration day was for most of us, emotional, enlightening, and hopeful. As Joe Biden poignantly noted after taking the oath of office, "We look ahead in our uniquely American way — restless, bold, optimistic — and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be" (via New York Times).

Expressing that sense of a hopeful tomorrow, and a hopeful future, Bruce Springsteen opened the Celebrate America concert with his 2012 hit, The Land of Hopes and Dreams. Significant in its calm sense of strength and still soft acoustic melody he sings, "Leave behind your sorrows / Let this day be the last / Tomorrow there'll be sunshine / And all this darkness past."

After a tumultuous week following the siege at the Capitol and trepidation about the transition of power and what might transpire, Springsteen's lyrics ring true for every American. The joy in a good day, a peaceful day, a day of greatness. As Biden expressed, "We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world... through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our 'better angels' have always prevailed. In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward. And, we can do so now. History, faith and reason show the way, the way of unity."

This is the land of hopes of and dreams or as Springsteen sings "big wheels roll through the fields where sunlight streams / Meet me in a land of hope and dreams."

The star-studded inauguration concert features a wealth of talent, but no one could open it with more conviction than a rock star that has been around and transcended generations in popularity. That rockstar is undoubtedly Bruce Springsteen, and Twitter loved every second of his acoustic version of Land of Hopes and Dreams in front of the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C.

As one fan noted, "#BruceSpringsteen is performing 'The Land of Hopes & Dreams.' It would be hard to imagine a song more appropriate than that on this Inauguration Day." Another Twitter user shares a similar sentiment, "'Meet me in the land of hope and dreams,' sings #BruceSpringsteen at the end of an AMAZING day. Congrats to #JoeBiden, #KamalaHarris and all Americans who will sleep easier tonight than we have in 4 years."

Springsteen's words say it all, "Well, this train carries saints and sinners / This train carries losers and winners," it continues, "I said, this train, dreams will not be thwarted / This train, faith will be rewarded /This train, hear the steel wheels singing / This train, bells of freedom ringing."